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You know the drill; all are innocent until proved guilty. How many really are innocent? Probably very few. Today's news carried reports of those arrested due to indictments--three were parents who had harmed their children.
Amy Leigh Gladden allegedly was so stoned on prescription drugs that she didn't know her 15 month-old son was wandering the streets of Muscle Shoals. Authorities say Michael Stacey Prater of Lauderdale County used his five year-old son as a human shield. Florence police have accused Lyndsey Brook Grindol of intentionally breaking her young child's arm. That's a lot of abuse for a small area...or is it?
How many parents lose track of their children only to have a neighbor corral them instead of police? How many fathers involve their children in their nefarious pursuits? How many mothers twist their child's arm, just not to the breaking point? We don't think it takes a village to rear a child, but it may just take one to save some children from their own parents.
*****
The fall season is upon us, but we're also in the middle of allergy season. In Alabama, it starts on March 1st and ends on February 28th.
Shoalanda
I don't know what it is like down in Alabama, but I suspect it is similar to PA. In my observation, it is not the village that falls short--it is the child protective system and the laws.
ReplyDeleteThere are very few child abuse cases up here that, along with the report of the abuse, the news also includes mention that neighbors had called the police, called child protective services...called and called.
One recent and extreme case here is th poster child for why child abuse happens. A 6 year old child--who weighed 24 pounds--was found lying in the street, in a diaper, in February. A passing motorist found him and called police.
Upon investigation, the little boy had a twin sister. Both had been locked in a bedroom for a long time....with a potty chair. They were the size of 2 year olds.
Get this: Child Protective Service were on the case! For YEARS. Had people in and out. A pediatrician had called the authorities due to their small size when they were THREE MONTHS old.
They're doing well in foster care. The parents were put in jail last month I forget how many decades long their sentence was. The children had served six years.
The village is only as good as the authorities. Unfortunately. And we have to keep calling...
Deb